December 18, 1935 – Three side-wheel lake steamers, former “floating
palaces,” that originally cost more than $700,000 are sold at a federal
auction. Highest bidder is the Woodmere
Scrap and Metal Company of Detroit. It
will remove the engines from the liners and convert the remaining hulls into
barges, effectively ending the careers of the “City” ships of the Goodrich
Transit Company – the City of Holland,
the City of Benton Harbor and the City of St. Joseph. Although the plan is to save the City
of Saugatauk she, too, will end up as a barge carrying pulpwood and petroleum products. With the sale an era ends on Lake
Michigan. The Chicago Daily Tribune reports, “Michigan’s fast fruit industry was
responsible for the former prosperity of the passenger line. Old residents recall seeing the ‘city’ boats
jammed with passengers and with fruit piled high on the decks, steaming out
from the lake ports. The big paddle
wheels leaving mountains of foaming water behind the trim liners added much to
the spectacle. It was a rich trade until
the development of motor trucks as freight carriers after the world war. In five years the lake fruit service was a
memory. Passenger trade alone would not
support these luxury liners, so they were tied up in the St. Joseph ship canal.”
[Chicago Daily Tribune, December 19, 1935] The photo above shows the City of Saugatauk early in her life when she carried the name City of Alpina.
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